Connecting Word To World
Graham Stanton has written a great chapter – Connecting Word To World – in Youth Ministry on the Front Foot. The chapter is seeking to counter the errors “…that all we need to know is what the Bible says and culture is unimportant, or, that we must be culturally relevant above all else.” The challenge is to let the Word of God help you to understand the world in which we live and minister.
We used the chapter as a training paper at a recent SOULIES Team Meeting. Our leaders found it a really useful exercise. Here’s what we did:
- Read the chapter
- Discussed where our youth ministry is on the spectrum of word to world (0 = word only, 10 = world only)
- Shared ways in which we are engaging well culturally
- Using 3 cultural touch points (KONY 2012, The Hunger Games, Peer Pressure) we brainstormed ways in which the word helps us to understand each of them. This final step was really useful. You can see some of our ideas on the whiteboard, but it was more about the process rather than any conclusive answers.
SATISFIED IN YOU // THE SING TEAM
MISFIT AID
At Northern Beaches Men’s Conference on Tuesday night we heard from Jeff Ryan of MISFIT Aid. Super encouraging. Jeff’s short talk complemented my Isaiah 58 talk from the night in giving men a tangible way to be on about justice in our world. Misfit Aid are based on the beaches and doing some really good things. Check out this vid:
Check out their website. Here’s a blurb:
“Misfit Aid is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to design, implement and resource aid and development projects in communities around the world. Working primarily in the areas of disaster relief and community empowerment, we establish partnerships with socially conscious charities and organisations that assist communities affected by poverty, disaster or a humanitarian crisis.”
Isaiah 58 – Comfort, Care & Compassion
I really enjoyed being part of Northern Beaches Men’s Conference on Tuesday night. I spoke on Isaiah 58 a talk entitled “Holy Eyes”. It was basically about seeing the world the way that God sees the world and responding with comfort, care and compassion. The talk wasn’t as tight as I’d like, but from conversations people found it helpful nonetheless. Intro vid:
HOLY EYES – NBMC – Dave Miers MP3
We also heard from MISFIT AID. Click here to learn about their great work.
Here is the outline from my sermon:
Kony + Slacktivism
1) Fasting that displeases God (Isaiah 58:1-5)
2) Fasting that pleases God (Isaiah 58:6-12)
3) The call for a changed heart, eyes & life (Isaiah 58:13-14)
5 things to know in order to cultivate an attitude of care, comfort & compassion:
i) know what’s going on
ii) know the dangers of wealth
iii) know that it’s more than money
iv) know who you are ignoring
v) know the good news of Jesus
ONE.LIFE. Course Website
I made a basic website for our new Christianity course earlier this week: onelifecourse.com .org is an atheist course from the UK… I’m hoping we get some of their visitors! I made it using a great wordpress theme from Woothemes (affiliate link).
Here’s a promo vid featured on the site:
Our next course starts on May 22nd.
Not a Christian? You’re welcome to join us. Or check out this site for more info about Jesus or this site for other similar courses around the world.
The Story of Ian & Larissa
This is a beautiful story. Read John Piper’s intro and Larissa’s article. The vid: